Ghost in a Bottle
by Weary-Traveler
Summary: After Danny takes up drinking over the summer, his life begins to fall apart. Mainly DxS, some DxV and DxP [Rating May Change]


**Synopisis: **With the summer break starting, Danny secretly turns to drinking as a way of escaping the stresses of life; until his friends show him what his life means to them. Mainly DxS, some DxV and DxP

**Disclaimer: **Not only do I not own Danny Phantom, but I DO NOT condone alcoholism. I've been down that road and it's what inspired me to write this.

**A/N: This chapter doesn't have much dialogue so bare with me, it's more of an intro. Although this is going to be Danny x Sam, I'll throw in some Valerie and Paulina to add some more flavor.**

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**Ghost in a Bottle**

_Chapter1_

Danny Fenton pushed open his bedroom window, permitting the cool night breeze to replace the stale air that had been accumulating since earlier that evening. The noises from the street below broke the still silence of Danny's room and found their way into the young teens mind, there they became magnified to the point where they prompted a mild euphoria stimulating every one of Danny's senses. His limbs seemed to ignore there natural movements, choosing instead to move carelessly through the air too escape the pull of gravity which seemed to be shifting with every step Danny took. As he leaned forward and collapsed on his bed, he was very much aware of the uncomfortable position his body had come to rest in but found that in his present state he didn't seem to mind.

Danny Fenton was drunk.

After coming home around 8 o'clock from **_Dead Teacher IIIV: Where're all the teachers at? _**He had gone up to his room and attempted to lock it as inconspicuously as possible; trying not to alert his nosy sister that he was hiding anything.

'_But there's nothing wrong with what I'm doing' _Danny thought to himself_ 'Jazz's always going to treat me like a little kid'._

Reaching behind his desk and opening the loose vent that lay behind it was much harder to do without making a sound, his desk was heavy and littered with junk that could cause a racket. But when he felt his fingertips touch the bottle, he'd feel a sense of accomplishment that silenced all the misgivings he'd had up to that point.

It was shortly after the incident with Freakshow and the reality gauntlets when Danny got his first taste of hard liquor, at a party Star threw to celebrate the end of the school year; Danny, Sam, and Tucker were not invited of course but amid the chaos that developed in the absence of any authority figures the three managed to slip in unnoticed. While Sam tried to make the best of it (having been brought there at Tucker and Danny's insistence) Danny innocently helped himself to some of the drinks available too try and fit in.

The rest of the party felt like one of the best nights of his life. Rather then a string of events, Danny remembered it as a single moment where he seemed to melt into the social fabric of high school popularity that he had always longed to experience. There were some of the prettiest girls at Casper High talking and laughing with him, all lost in the mayhem of booze and adrenaline that defined a teen party. He remembered talking with Paulina, The sexy Latina, about how out've control the party was and how surprised she was to see him there. Dash had even come out of nowhere handing him a huge bottle of Vodka before disappearing upstairs. He didn't remember exactly what was said, but that was part of the novelty of his memories of that evening, it was like nothing he had experienced before.

It was the bottle of Vodka Dash had handed to him that Danny now held in his hand, a week and a half after the party. With just about 1/7th of the bottle left he would spend the next two hours in his room reliving those sensations over again. Though it would mean finishing the bottle which he'd been trying to avoid doing for as long as possible, not knowing when he might be able to get his hands on another. He didn't know how to get a fake ID or when the next time he'd be able to sneak into a party.

Mixing it with a carton of orange juice over the course of the evening, Danny made several screwdrivers. The first one was far weaker than he would have liked but he noticed that his body had adjusted to how much was needed to get him tipsy; not only that, but the exciting party atmosphere was not present in the solitary refuge of his room. As the night wore on he began sifting through his thoughts while his body seemed less and less alert of his surroundings.

_'I don't know why I should have to lock myself in my room to enjoy this'_ Danny thought angrily, starring up the ceiling from his bed. _'I know it's because my parents and my sister would start ripping into me, there all hypocrites!'_ That thought felt like the ultimate justification, what adult didn't drink? He smiled imaging a confrontation between him and his family and crying out dramatically _'FROM YOU OKAY! I LEARNED IT FROM WATCHING YOU!' _He laughed out loud at the parody of that anti-drug commercial they used to show on T.V. He managed to stifle it once he realized it was already 11:00 and his parents were probably getting ready for bed. That assumption was confirmed when he heard his parents call from there room just down the hallway from his.

"Danny! Sam's on the phone for you!" His mom called out; he could hear his dad muttering about how late it was to be calling.

'_That's weird I didn't hear anyone call.' _ He made his way to his door, taking a deep breathe and steadying himself before opening it.

"I'll take it downstairs!" He yelled down the hall, wondering why Sam would be calling him now; before remembering he wasn't a normal kid.

"No, normal kids have free time and get decent sleep, but I got to be the town hero" He grumbled.

"Danny?" a voice behind him inquired, startling him.

He turned to see Jazz with a worried expression on her face. He became very conscious about his swaying posture and attempted to straighten himself in front of his often perceptive sister. _'Oh man, this is it. She can tell! Don't let her smell your breathe.' _he thought nervously as she leaned in close to him.

"Danny are you sure you're up to this? She's probably calling about a ghost, I mean you know I'll cover for you but… you look REALLY tired. Maybe you should tell her this one can wait till morning huh?" Danny noticed the look of concern in his sisters' eyes.

'_She just thinks I'm tired'_ Danny thought relieved. She was right; he was tired amongst other things. He yawned out loud not trying to make it overly dramatic.

"I'll just ask Sam what it's all about first" He said

Jazz smiled at her little brother, the superhero. _'I'm surprised he can put up with all this, he's going to grow up to be a great guy' _she thought, leaning in to give him a kiss and wishing him luck before going back to her room.

Danny made his way downstairs careful not to trip; the darkness didn't help his predicament. He picked up the receiver in the kitchen and heard an anxious Sam on the other end.

"**Danny? Is that you?**" Sam' voice

"Yeah, I'm here" Danny replied nonchalantly.

"**Thank god I reached you! Johnny 13's Shadow just starting tearing through Skulk and Lurk bookstore!"**

"Sam it's passed 11:15 already, by the time I get there and beat him it'll be way past midnight! Can't this wait until morning?" Danny asked trying to project the sleepiness in his voice across the phone lines.

"**Danny that bookstore is like the ONLY goth refuge in Amity Park! I know it's late but I gotta play the friend card on this one, you have to stop him! PLEASE!**"

Hearing Sam plead for help like a damsel in distress was completely out of character for the goth. She was usually the more head-strong and daring of there ghost hunting trio; it felt weird to hear her sounding so desperate.

He'd always felt intimidated by Sam. Her intelligence, looks, strength, activism, and yes even her money, had always stopped him from pursuing a relationship; after all, what did he have to offer? Even his ghost powers were because of her influence. Danny even found them to be more of a curse, often prevented him from having a social life or even just passing classes.

'_If I ever told her how I feel, I know what would happen. She'd cringe for a second and then things would get all awkward as she told me the whole "I really like you as a friend but…" speech'_ Danny involuntarily pictured her reaction in his head, which his body seemed to mistake for the real thing and promptly gave him the sensation of being punched in the stomach.

_'But she's asking for your help right now' _another part of him thought._ 'Coming to her when she really needs you; that's when she likes you the most, THAT'S when you have something to offer.'_

"**Danny are you there?**"

Danny popped out of his reverie, which seemed to have taken longer then normal because of the booze. He focused his eyes in determination.

"I'm coming" He hung up

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Danny had seen enough commercials against drinking and driving to know it was wrong; but he was glad no one had made any commercials against drinking and flying to make him feel guilty.

Flying had taken some getting used to for Danny after getting his powers, it required him to focus on which direction he wanted to move in then concentrate harder if he wanted to go faster. This was the first time he had ever flown drunk but it felt like the first time he had ever flown at all. The Halfa felt completely free of gravity's pull and completely overwhelmed with exhilaration at the anticipation of a ghostly confrontation, something he had never felt before.

"I can't believe I thought I couldn't do this, I've never felt more ready for a ghost fight! Bring'em on! WooooHooooo!" He screamed in excitement just above Main Street doing several loop-de-loops, in the process getting curious looks from people on the street.

'_I feel so loose, and my senses have never felt so vivid. Forget using the thermos, wait until Sam sees me Knock Johnny 13's shadow back into the ghost zone. That'll teach him not to mess with Amity Park while I'm around' _Danny thought confidently.

On his way there he tried formulating a strategy to defeat his dark shapeless enemy, trying to think of himself as a brilliant tactician. However, he soon lost interest and instead found himself envisioning a remarkably one-sided fight with the ghost struggling to defend itself while he bombarded it with ecto-blasts, while Sam looked on in admiration from the sidelines. Afterwards, he stood over his conquered adversary triumphantly, a stoic expression marking his face. Sam starred up at her friend, now seeing him in a new light.

Danny let this scenario replay itself several times before being snapped out of his daydream by sudden commotion right below where he was flying.

"AAAHHHH! GET AWAY!"

"HELP SOMEONE"

"RUN AWAY! RUN!"

Danny shook his head realizing he was right over the store. Down below, he saw several freaky looking kids running out of the building in terror, Johnny 13's shadow right behind them. It let loose several shadowy tendrils from its form and grasped the escaping Goths. Pulling them back inside, the ghost then smashed the entrance letting it collapse, thereby preventing anymore escapes.

'That's weird why would it want to keep them in there" he asked himself as he landed on top of the building. Turning intangible, he poked his head through the roof to see what was going on.

Below him (and upside-down), Danny saw what looked more like a hostage situation than a typical ghost attack. Johnny 13 was walking up and down the isles of the bookstore while Kitty and Johnny 13's shadow were searching all the bags of the Goths and checking through their books.

"It's not here Johnny" Kitty said in frustration as she tossed the last book onto a pile in the corner.

"It's gotta be here Kitty keep checking; that spell book could be our ticket into the real world" Johnny yelled, angrily tossing aside '**_How to cast a love spell on your boyfriend - For Dimwits'_**

Danny saw Johnny 13's shadow push aside several Goths and pick out Sam from the back of the crowd; it tore her bag off her shoulders and ripped it in two. Seeing it distracted while looking through the contents of her bag, Danny felt a surge of adrenaline and found that he had already unconsciously begun charging straight down at the ghost yelling profanities; all thoughts of a strategic attack forgotten. His attack was thwarted by a powerful ecto-blast from Kitty.

"Nice sneak attack moron, I don't think everyone back in the Ghost Zone managed to hear you" She said. Her hands still glowing green.

Kitty's blast had thrown Danny to the other side of the bookstore, dangerously close to a rack of ornamental medieval weapons. Getting up, Danny felt the whole room sway as he tried steadying himself; the earlier euphoria had been replaced by a tiring nausea. By the time Danny got back up he could see Johnny 13 going intangible through the ceiling on his bike with Kitty riding in the back, a book clutched in her right hand.

Danny tried to focus himself and go after them, when a burly police officer grabbed him from behind.

"I GOT HIM! I GOT INVISO-BILL! I NEED BACK-UP NOW!" The officer yelled, as three more cops approached. Apparently the police had arrived while Danny was steadying himself and not paying attention to what was going on; that must have been what stopped Johnny and Kitty from continuing there attack.

"Get off me! GET – OFF!" Danny used the extra strength his ghost form gave him to fling the officer off his back; Danny heard the officer yell as he was thrown backwards into the rack of ornamental weapons Danny had missed earlier, a sword slicing across the side of his abdomen.

Sam, who had been watching from behind a table, gasped as blood became visible on the cops shirt. Her eyes turned to Danny who looked back at her in panic before leaping up into the air and phasing through the ceiling.

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**A/N:** I always wanted to use Skulk and Lurk bookstore as a setting; most fics never go near it for some reason.

Please Read&Review! Come on, you got to have an opinion on this.


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